Before I Was Afflicted

I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and when I was first facing the fact I’d be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, Psalm 119 was such a help. In it are two short verses that really bolstered my spirits. And I just bet these verses will encourage you today, too. What are they? “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word…” and… “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn of your decrees.”

You see, before I became paralyzed, my hands reached for a lot of wrong things and my feet took me into some bad places. But after my paralysis, tempting choices were scaled down considerably. There were just some things I simply couldn’t do. It was hard at first, but my affliction has really helped me learn God’s decrees. And God wants to do the same thing in your life through your afflictions. They may be blessings that bruise, but today, just remember, knowing God is worth it!